TANZANIA: TPDC TO LAY GAS PIPELINES ALONG DAR ROADS

PLANS are now in the offing for the Tanzania Petroleum Development Corporation (TPDC) to lay pipelines along main roads in Dar es Salaam for distribution of the natural gas in the city.

Accessing affordable source of energy is among the major cause for stress for most city residents that hike household spending leading to high cost of living.

The TPDC Public Relations Officer, Mr Malik Munisi, told the 'Daily News' on Wednesday that connection from the pipelines along the main roads to the nearby areas for connection to the houses would be implemented in a joint venture structure between TPDC and private firms or investors.

Although source of funding for the project execution is yet to be identified, TPDC plans to connect over 30,000 households in the first phase of the project to be implemented in Dar es Salaam city.

"One of the challenges will be to connect the gas pipeline to unsurveyed settlements or squatters. That calls for special arrangement to ensure safety connection and distribution is observed," he noted.

According to TPDC, the pilot project launched last month is already operating at Mikocheni suburb in the city where about 60 families are currently enjoying the connection to the natural gas pipeline, the cheap source of energy.

Mr Munisi added that TPDC focus at supplying gas to domestic customers in various parts of the city, so they can keep their energy bills down where people will be able to buy gas in a pre-paid arrangement using special cards as it is done with electricity.

Charcoal is responsible for massive environmental destruction as its production exerts huge pressure on the country's forests. Tanzania consumes over 1 million tons of charcoal annually, half of which is burnt by households in Dar es Salaam.

The technology used to make charcoal is so inefficient that ten tons of wood are needed to produce one ton of charcoal.